Episode 3
Spyke walked into the study where the eight remaining teams where waiting on lounges and chairs. He stood behind the desk, on which was a bottle of massage oil and a car jack.
"Good morning," he said. "I hope you had a good night."
The Beauties and Geeks responded with a round of affirmatives.
"Great. Your next challenges will be all about machines. Beauties," Spyke said, putting his hands on the car jack, "you'll be learning about car maintenance."
Spyke grinned at the series of groans he got.
"While the Geeks will be focusing on a biological machine: the human body. You'll have to learn all about the art of massage."
The response to that was a cross between cheering and panic from both Geeks and Beauties. Piotr went quite pale. Wanda froze with horror as Toad cheered beside her. Lance pointed an accusing finger at Rogue.
"What about her?" he demanded.
"Rogue will be wearing gloves, of course," Spyke said, giving Lance a hard look before putting his hands on a pile of books. "These are your study materials. I'll see you in a couple of days. Good luck."
Wanda stood in the bedroom with a little-too-eager Toad looking crouched on the floor beside her. It was clear from the expression on his face that he dearly wanted to get started on the massage part of their studies. Wanda was disgusted by the very idea; the thought of his hands on her made her want to be sick. Still, she remembered all too well the events leading up to the elimination; being called a hypocrite for condemning others for not giving Toad a chance when she wasn't either.
"Wash," she said.
"Wh-what?" Toad stammered in reply, his hopeful expression turning wary.
"Go have a shower," Wanda said firmly, gesturing to the bathroom door. "Now."
"But I hate showers," Toad whined.
"A bath then. I don't care," Wanda replied. "But you are not touching me until after you've scrubbed every inch of your body thoroughly."
"But—"
"No buts!" Wanda insisted, her eyes blazing. "You're here to learn how to improve your social life, right? Well, this is where you start! Hygiene! You haven't showered once since you've been here, but mark my words, you are going to start washing every single day starting right now. And you're going to start using deodorant too."
"I hate deodorant," Toad complained, turning up his nose and seeming to sink into the floor.
"I don't care!" Wanda said, and a blue light grew around her hand as she clenched her fist. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Toad. And you won't like the hard way."
x-x-x
"Yeeeeoooooooow!"
Simultaneously, Piotr, Kitty and Lance all looked towards the ceiling of the dining room.
"What in the world was that?" Kitty said.
"I think that Wanda and Toad's room is right above us," Piotr said.
"Heh," Lance said with a snicker as he looked back down at the car books and parts in front of them on the table. "Toad screams like a girl."
Kitty jabbed him. He pulled a face at her and rubbed his arm.
"What do you suppose they're doing up there," she asked.
"Maybe Wanda's showing Toad how to massage?" Lance suggested.
"Maybe," Kitty replied dubiously.
The conversation just made Piotr so much more worried about his studies, and was glad that Kitty had decided to start with the car first. Having grown up on a farm, a certain amount of vehicle maintenance had been required learning for him.
x-x-x
"So what do you know about cars?" Scott asked from the bed he shared with Tabitha.
"Nothing," Tabitha said absently as she carefully painted her fingernails.
"Nothing, huh?" Scott said, flipping through the book between his knees. "Do you know how to drive?"
"Yeah," she said, still intent on her nails. "Okay, maybe not nothing-nothing."
"Do you know how to change a tyre?" Scott asked, pausing to glance over one of the diagrams.
Tabitha blew lightly on her fingers. "Nope."
"Check the oil?"
"Nope."
x-x-x
Amara, Jean, Pyro and Fred were on the back porch with the books and car parts spread across the outdoor table. While Pyro and Fred poured over the books, Amara looked at Jean.
"So how is it we ended up with the only Geeks in the world who don't know how to look after a car?" Amara asked.
"I can service all the cars I want," said Pyro, his head buried in the book, "just as long as they're fictional."
"I know how to change a tyre," Fred added defensively.
"Well," said Jean with a slight smile, "at least we have a few days."
x-x-x
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Amanda exclaimed, practically leaping away from Kurt's hands.
Kurt looked up at her with a pained expression on his face from where he sat on the chair.
"Sorry?" he said tentatively.
"What is with your nails?" she said. "It feels like you're stabbing me."
Amanda snatched up one of his hands as Kurt apologised once more.
"Geez no wonder," Amanda said as she inspected his fingernails. "These things are huge. They're practically claws."
"That's a slight exaggeration," Kurt replied.
"Don't you ever clip them?"
"Of course I do."
"Hmm," Amanda hummed as she considered his nails some more. It wasn't so much the length as it was the thickness. "I think I'm going to need my biggest file for these."
"Uhh..."
x-x-x
Rogue was not expecting to find Gambit and X-23 in the kitchen when she arrived for her lunch. She gave X-23 a nod as she passed and made her way to the fridge.
"How's the studying going?" Gambit asked as he made his sandwich.
"Fine," Rogue replied shortly.
"I notice that Lance's been studying with Kitty and Piotr this morning," Gambit said with a nod in the direction of the dining room.
"He's been avoiding me like the plague," Rogue said, pulling what she wanted out of the fridge and kicking it shut. "But I hardly need his help to read a book, and he apparently knows," and here Rogue lowered the pitch of her voice, "all about cars and he doesn't need some stupid chick telling him what to do."
Gambit sighed dramatically. "Men."
Rogue paused long enough to give Gambit a weird look. He chuckled and sat down next to X-23 with his sandwich and a drink. X-23 was already eating her lunch.
"And what about you guys?" Rogue asked as she prepared her own lunch.
"We've been giving each other massages all morning," Gambit said.
"I have strong hands but no technique," X-23 reported, giving Rogue the impression she was repeating something Gambit had told her.
Gambit cleared his throat with a slight grin. "Well, I hardly think you're going to be alone in that, chère. I doubt most of the hommes here have ever even touched a femme in their life, let alone given them a massage."
"I know all about that," Rogue said dryly.
It was only then that Gambit realised what he'd said. He made a non-committal grunt and then asked: "Just how long have you been unable to touch people?"
"Almost fifteen years," Rogue replied, her voice clipped.
"Merde," Gambit said as Rogue joined them at the bench with her lunch. "So this is probably a stupid question, but why don't you just get one of those power control implants?"
"Oh I've applied plenty of times," Rogue said, and from the irritated tone of voice she was using, Gambit figured this was a sore subject. "My shrink keeps blocking me."
"Seriously?" Gambit asked, lifting his drink to his mouth. "Doesn't absence of human touch violate your human rights or something? I mean, people need to touch."
Rogue gave Gambit the first smile he'd seen on her lips since they'd met.
"Apparently I don't need skin contact to hug someone or whatever," Rogue replied. "My shrink thinks my problem is in my head and that if I get the implant I'll just rely on it instead of working through the psychological problem."
"So, get a new shrink."
"Been there, done that, got the commemorative album."
Gambit laughed. X-23 gave Rogue a look that said she didn't get it, but didn't say anything and just cleaned off her plate.
"Okay, okay," Gambit said. "But surely after fifteen years, they'd have some mercy? And what about... You said you put your friend into a coma for three years? Stripped her of her powers? Doesn't that count for something?"
"My threat level is 'containable'," Rogue replied, and she took a large bite of her food.
Gambit grunted and seemed to remember his sandwich. He had the feeling there was more to this than she was telling, but he also got the impression that she had said all she cared to say on the matter, so he didn't push it.
"So," he said after they'd been eating in companionable silence for a time, "need a hand roping Lance into teaching you massage?"
"I'm not going to demean myself by begging him to help me," Rogue replied with dignity.
Gambit raised an eyebrow as he gathered up the last crumbs of his sandwich. "So...you were just going to read the book?"
"Yup."
"Bad idea," Gambit said, shaking his head. "There are some things that need to be practised, chère. You're a test pilot, right? I bet there's a ton of things that work differently in practice than they do in theory. Massage is the same way."
Rogue cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? And you read about massage often?"
"I read about it this morning," Gambit replied, smirking at her. "It's very technical but not all that useful."
Rogue didn't reply as she cleaned off her plate. Gambit watched her for a moment, and realised that was all the answer he was going to get. She meant what she said about not demeaning herself by approaching Lance, and as long as he didn't volunteer, that was the end of it.
"Well," Gambit said as he stood, taking his plate with him. "You can practice on me if you want. Done with that?"
Rogue gave his plate with a nod. "You already have Laura to look after. Not to mention your own car studies."
"At risk of sounding like Lance," Gambit said, taking X-23's plate as well, "I already know all about cars. Fast cars, motorcycles; they're like prerequisites for being a playboy. Although I do prefer the bikes. But hey, you never know when a couple of hot chicks might be having car trouble."
"That really happens outside of the movies?" Rogue asked skeptically as she watched Gambit put the plates into the sink.
"Ahh if only real life was like TV," Gambit replied, chuckling as he turned on the water. "Once. It happened once. Trust me, I know my way around the car. I've already flipped through the material. There's nothing in there I don't already know. If you want someone to practice on, I really don't mind."
Rogue was silent for a long moment.
"What's in it for you?" she asked finally. "I mean, you've got nothing to gain by helping me—or any other team—with their study. What if I win the challenge and Laura doesn't?"
Rogue felt the likelihood of her winning a massage challenge when she had to wear gloves was poor, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try.
"Then I get the privilege of knowing I helped you get there, and the feeling of reassurance that Laura and I won't end up in the elimination room."
Rogue laughed.
"Alright then, Swamp Rat," she said, and then glanced over at X-23 who hadn't said a word. "If it's okay with you, Laura?"
"It is okay," X-23 replied. "We had already planned to 'do our own thing' after lunch."
"Alright then," said Gambit as he put the freshly washed plates in the rack. "Well, if you're ready, we should go to your room and pick out the best gloves for the job."
Rogue pushed herself up from the bench with a nod. "Okay."
Gambit smiled to himself as he followed Rogue out of the kitchen. While trotting up the stairs, Gambit started unbuttoning his shirt. Rogue didn't notice until they got to her door—one of the bedrooms right next to Gambit's—and her eyes went wide with shock as he casually slipped his shirt down his arms.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Gotta come off sometime," Gambit replied, keeping his amusement at her reaction to himself. "And this way, we get to send Lance a message."
He opened up Rogue's door and hung his shirt on the door handle. He grinned wickedly at Rogue, and then gestured to her to come in. Rogue pulled a face at his audacity to invite her into her own room, moved past him quickly, and headed over to the bag she kept her gloves in.
"Most of these are cotton," Rogue said as she pulled out pairs. "Bunch of leather ones. A couple of silk and satin ones..."
"And a box of disposables, I see," Gambit said, picking up a nearby box.
"Never know when I'm gonna be dealing with something greasy, bloody or otherwise likely to wreck my normal gloves," Rogue replied with a shrug. "I always keep a pair on me."
"Hmm," Gambit said while testing out the texture of some of her gloves. "Like massage oil?"
"Yeah," Rogue replied with a slight smirk. "Like massage oil. But if you have a better idea..."
Gambit grinned at her and handed her a left silk glove and a right thin leather glove. "Let's see what these feel like. A big part of massage is being able to 'talk' to the body, so you want to have as small a barrier as possible."
Rogue didn't reply and pulled on the gloves. She hesitated after finishing putting the second glove on, but Gambit took her hands and pressed them to his bare chest. Rogue swallowed hard. The gesture felt particularly intimate in the bedroom, and she knew she was blushing. She kept her eyes focused on his chest and tried to ignore the heat in her face.
Gambit kept his eyes on hers, although she refused to meet his gaze. He gave her hands a all-so-gentle squeeze and then slowly ran his fingers down her arms, and then onto her waist and pulled her just a little closer than necessary. Rogue's fingers flexed involuntarily on his skin before she remembered what it was they were doing.
She felt incredibly out of her depth as she gently rubbed his skin. She had seen men shirtless before, but it had been years since she'd gotten this close to one. She swallowed as her fingers ran lightly over his firmly muscled chest.
"Hmm," Gambit said in a low voice. "I think that the leather one has too much grip."
"Oh, umm, yeah," Rogue stammered in reply.
Gambit reached over for one of the disposable gloves while Rogue mentally berated herself for her embarrassing response. She shouldn't let him get to her. He handed her the disposable glove, and she pushed him away before she took the leather glove off. While Rogue exchanged gloves, Gambit picked up the massage oil.
"I don't really want to use that with my silk glove," Rogue said, eyeing the bottle.
"Not expecting you to," Gambit replied, "but you were planning on using it with the disposable, right?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Bon," Gambit said, and he dripped a little of the oil on the left side of his chest. Rogue's eyes were immediately on the resulting drops as they slid down. "You'd better catch those before they go too far, hein? Unless you want them to go too far..."
Rogue glared at him and slapped her hands back onto his chest with a little more force than was necessary. He smirked at her as he slid his hands onto her waist once more.
"Don't flatter yourself, Swamp Rat," she practically snarled at him. "You're not that exciting."
"See?" Gambit said, fighting back the urge to make some suggestive, flirtatious response that would likely result in being kicked out, "does not this glove slide so much easier than the leather one?"
"Oh, it's delightful," Rogue replied sardonically.
"That's what I thought."
As he gazed down into her flashing green eyes, he had a sudden urge to kiss her. He set the urge aside immediately, of course, the words "three year coma" echoing in his mind. Still, the blazing fury he saw in her eyes suggested to him that he was missing out on something—someone—really amazing.
"I think the disposable's the better option," Rogue said, breaking the silence that Gambit only just realised had occurred. "Unless you preferred the silk for some reason?"
"Well, I do...just for something else," Gambit replied, giving her a wink. "Shall I lie down? Or would you like me to massage you first?"
"Not if you're anticipating me taking off my shirt," Rogue replied evenly as she disentangled herself from his arms. "Go lie down."
"Of course, ma chère," Gambit replied, rubbing his skin where the massage oil had been. "Say, Roguey? Do you actually need gloves for this? Wouldn't the massage oil be enough of a barrier?"
"Nope," Rogue replied as she pulled off the silk glove to exchange it for a second disposable glove, which Gambit held out for her. "The oil's supposed to be absorbed into the skin, and hey, news flash, that's what I do; absorb people. At best it might slow it down, but not by much."
"Ahh well," Gambit said, glancing at the two single beds. "It was just a thought. So which one's yours?"
Before Rogue could respond, however, Gambit came to his own conclusion about which be was Rogue's, and promptly sprawled on it. Rogue picked up the massage oil.
"And what, pray tell, would you have done if that was Lance's bed?" Rogue inquired as she sauntered over to him.
"Leave something to let him know I was there," Gambit replied cheerfully as he rolled onto his stomach. "Preferably something gross."
"I'd ask," Rogue said, squirting the massage oil onto her hands, "but I have a feeling I don't want to know what you mean by something gross."
Gambit chuckled as Rogue put the bottle down on the bedside table. Rogue took a moment to eye off Gambit's back, took a deep breath and then gently placed her hands on his back. The study material talked about warming up the skin first, so that was what she opted to focus on first.
"Okay," Gambit said after a few minutes. "I think you can start digging your fingers in now."
"Oh... I was..." Rogue said.
"Yeah? Well, you need to press harder then," he said, and when there was no reply or noticeable change in pressure he said: "Chère? You hear me?"
"Yeah, I heard. Isn't this enough?"
"No."
"Oh... what about this?"
"No. Harder," Gambit said in exasperation at the barely-worth-it increase in pressure.
"This?"
"Harder," he said, and then added suggestively: "Ohhh, harder, Roguey, harder."
Rogue's temper flared. Gambit groaned for real when her fingers dug into his back forcefully. And as quickly as that happened, her hands disappeared from his back.
"Oh hell, I'm sorry," she said in genuine concern. "I didn't hurt you too much did I?"
Gambit grunted, and then rolled on his side. He took in the worried expression on her face.
"Wow," he said. "You're really petrified of hurting people, aren't you?"
The worry vanished and was replaced with a glare.
"Look, Swamp Rat," she said crossly, "flight was not the only power I stripped from my best friend, okay? She was also invulnerable and super strong, which means now I am too. Only, unlike Carol, I hardly ever touch anyone, with or without skin contact, so it's hard to tell when hard is too hard."
"Ahh," Gambit said. "Thanks for clearing that up. See? It's a good thing I offered to practice with you, Roguey. That was the perfect amount of pressure right then, and I'll keep you appraised of the pressure level as we go, okay?"
Rogue nodded. "Okay. But can it with the sexual crap."
"Why?" he asked with a smirk just before he rolled back onto his stomach. "Afraid someone might hear us?"
x-x-x
Some time later, Kitty, Piotr and Lance made their way up the stairs. Lance decided he wanted to go swimming, and Kitty and Piotr were planning on working on Piotr's massage skills. Rogue and Lance's bedroom was on the way to Kitty and Piotr's bedroom, so all three noticed the pink shirt hanging off the door knob.
"Whose shirt is that?" Lance asked with a frown as he approached his door.
"Let's see," Kitty said dryly. "Who do we know wears pink, designer dress shirts?"
Lance threw Kitty a startled look, then flung open the bedroom door. Sure enough, there was Gambit, lying on Rogue's bed while she massaged her back.
"What are you, insane?" Lance demanded, staring at Gambit incredulously. "She could put you in a coma for years!"
"There are these things called 'gloves', mon ami," Gambit said lazily, lifting his head ever so slightly. "You may have heard of them."
Kitty giggled.
"I've scored massages from two gorgeous women today," Gambit went on, throwing Lance a smirk. "And you ask if I'm the one who's insane."
"Rogue and Laura are Geeks," said Lance. "They're not 'gorgeous'. This one isn't even pretty."
"Lance, that's mean," Kitty said before anyone else could respond, and then turned her attention to Gambit: "And not that I'm criticising, Remy—I think it's very sweet of you to help Rogue—but shouldn't you be focusing on your own studies with Laura?"
"Been with Laura all morning," Gambit replied, sinking his head back into Rogue's pillow. "And I already know my way around a car. Trust me, I've got nothing to lose by helping Roguey."
"Except your powers," Lance said snidely, "and three years of your life."
"I don't know," Gambit said slyly. "Might be worth it."
"It ain't something to joke about, Swamp Rat," Rogue said darkly as she lifted her hands from his back.
"There, see? Even she agrees," said Lance.
"I have a name, rude boy," Rogue said, glaring at him as she took off her gloves. "I don't care if you can't abide my company, but if you refer to me as 'her' or 'she' one more time, a coma will be the least of your worries."
"Ha! You tell him, Rogue," Kitty said, grinning at Rogue as she dropped the disposable gloves in the garbage. Kitty tugged at Piotr's arm. "Come on, Pete. We should get started."
Finally, the day of the challenges arrived. The Beauties and Geeks were taken to a parking lot where eight identical blue cars were waiting. There was a podium beside each car, a car jack, a spare tyre and a couple of smaller things sitting on the podium. The female Beauties were dressed up like Daisy Duke, while Gambit and Lance were wearing simple blue mechanic jumpsuits.
Each of the teams picked a car. The Geeks stood behind the podiums while their Beauties stood just to the side of the front of the cars. Everyone looked at Spyke, who was standing in front of the line.
"Okay Beauties," said Spyke. "For today's challenge you will have to complete the following check list: pop the hood, check the oil, change the air filter, close the hood and change the tyre. The first Beauty to complete all their tasks and honk the horn, wins. Geeks, you can watch, but you may not help. Beauties, no, you may not use your powers. Your time starts...now."
Gambit grabbed the rag off the podium and popped the hood. Coming up to the challenge he had heavily debated with himself what he should do. He had never planned on winning any challenges; he was far more interested in seeing if he could avoid getting into the elimination room just by being charming. Still, he had assured X-23 that he knew what he was doing, and they hadn't gone over his study materials at all. He hated the idea of possibly letting her down by purposely doing a sloppy job, especially after he had spent all that time with Rogue.
Rogue was the other reason why Gambit opted to try his best with this challenge, or more to the point, Lance. Gambit did not want Lance to win. If Rogue won the massage challenge, great, but Gambit didn't like Lance's attitude towards Rogue, and he thought that if Lance won, it would vindicate his decision to avoid Rogue.
Most of the Beauties were able to open up the hood of the car fairy quickly. Amanda and Amara both had problems finding the latch. Amanda eventually found hers, and Amara found hers too a few minutes later.
Jean lost time attempting to locate the air filter, as did Tabitha.
Gambit, Lance, Kitty and Wanda all worked on their spare tyres at the same time. Wanda had problems with the car jack and Kitty made the mistake of tightening the nuts instead of loosening them.
Gambit opened up the driver's door and honked the horn. A couple of cars away, Lance huffed in irritation; he'd just finished putting the tyre back on.
"And Remy wins," said Spyke, and Gambit allowed himself a smug grin as he got out of the car. "Congratulations, you've won immunity, and the chance to send another team into the elimination room."
Remy tugged X-23 next to him and gave her a half hug, which X-23 received awkwardly.
"I'll see you back at the mansion," Spyke said.
During the trip back, Gambit brushed off the congratulations of others with as much modesty as he could muster.
"I had the advantage of prior knowledge," he said from the back seat of the bus. "Most of you hadn't even seen the inside of a car engine, or changed a tyre before now. So maybe I won the challenge, but you femmes learned something new."
"And that," said Kitty from her seat just in front, "is what this whole experience is all about."
"Exactly," Gambit replied, offering Kitty one of his sexy smiles. "Never know, maybe next time one of you will have the advantage and I'll be the one completely out of my depth. Heck, for all we know, one of these Geeks knows more about massage than he's letting on, hein?"
"Not Pete," Kitty said, with a rueful glance at her partner who was at the front of the bus in conversation with Kurt. "I don't think he's ever touched a woman before, at least not one he wasn't related to. He was so nervous about touching me I thought he was going to have an anxiety attack."
"I don't think Pyro has either," said Amara from across the aisle, "but he was eager to try."
"So was Toad," Wanda said, also in the backseat.
"Eww," Amara said with a shudder.
"At least you got him to shower, though," said Gambit, with a nod towards Wanda. "Masterfully done, might I say."
"Thank you," Wanda replied, giving him a smile. "And thanks again for lending him your deodorant."
Gambit shrugged while Amara gaped at him.
"You did what?" she asked. "Eww."
"Oh, it's not that gross," said Wanda waving her hand at her. "It's a spray, not a roll-on."
"You are the helpful sort, aren't you?" Kitty said, giving Gambit a teasing grin. "First Rogue, then Toad."
"You misunderstand, chérie," Gambit said giving her a wink. "First Rogue, then Wanda."
Kitty laughed and smacked his arm lightly. "You ladies man, you."
Gambit grinned and then waggled his eyebrows at Wanda. Wanda rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
x-x-x
Kurt switched sitting next to Piotr to sit next to Rogue, who was looking out the window and not joining in on the conversation.
"Hey," he greeted her. "Thinking about anything in particular, or just enjoying the view?"
"Bit of both," Rogue said after a short pause.
"Anything interesting?"
"Not really."
"So, I don't know about you," Kurt said, determined not to let the conversation fall flat like Rogue appeared to want it to, "but I'm really nervous about this massage challenge."
"That makes two of us," Rogue drawled.
The housemates had some time back at the mansion to clean up (the Beauties especially), eat lunch, and have a little time to relax before they had to go outside for the Geeks challenge. They were asked to line up with their partners about four or five metres away from a line of massage tables. Those who counted the number of tables noted that there were ten of them, and found that a little strange as there were only eight teams. Spyke stood off to the side of the tables. There were also four additional people amongst the camera crew.
"Geeks," he said when all were ready, "it's time for your massage challenge. Before we get started, I should introduce you to two of your judges for today: Paul...and Duncan."
The two men came forward, both dressed in fluffy white bath robes. They each stood next to a table.
"The other eight judges will be...your Beauties."
There was universal freaking out amongst the Beauties as they shuddered at the thought of being massaged by all the Geeks, or at least by particular Geeks. The Geeks were one part panic, two parts excitement. The Beauties were then instructed to go back inside and change.
"This is not going to be over soon enough," Amara said as they trotted up the stairs.
"Yeah, I know," said Wanda. "I wore a shirt while Toad practised, and now I have to go down there in my bikini and be massaged by everyone?"
"Ewww Toad," Amara said shuddering.
"Hey, if you think you've got it bad," said Lance as he reached the top of the stairs, "Remy and I are going to be massaged by a bunch of guys."
"What about Laura and Rogue?" Amanda asked.
"They're so butch they may as well be guys," Lance said.
"Lance! That's mean," Kitty said.
"Oh hell, guys..." said Tabitha from just outside her door. "We're getting a massage from Rogue."
There was silence as everyone paused, and it was interrupted by a loud, contemptuous snort from Gambit.
"Please," he said scornfully. "I've been practising with Rogue the last couple of days, remember? She didn't absorb me once. You'll be fine."
x-x-x
Soon the Beauties returned, each dressed in their swimwear with a fluffy, white bathrobe over the top. They each stood by one of the tables. The Geeks were still waiting in a line.
"Each Geek will give a five minute massage," Spyke said. "After the massages are over, the Beauties will rate the massage they just received. To make it fair, the Beauties will be wearing blindfolds and earphones so that they don't know the identity of the masseur."
Kurt looked down at his blue hands: furry and only two fingers instead of four. He was pretty sure they'd have no problems figuring out which massage came from him. Further down the line, Rogue was thinking the same thing about her gloved hands.
"Additionally, there will be two more masseurs," and as Spyke continued talking, two women emerged from the crew and joined the line of Geeks. "Taryn will be wearing gloves."
Rogue face lit up as she glanced down the line to see Taryn armed with a box of disposable gloves just as she was.
"And Risty, whose metamorphic abilities will allow her to copy Kurt's hands," Spyke went on, and Risty held up her hands as they morphed to match Kurt's. "Beauties, know that Taryn and Risty are both trained and qualified masseurs."
Gambit grinned, realising immediately that they were attempting to promote honesty in the judging.
"Beauties, if you will disrobe."
Simultaneously, the Beauties, Paul and Duncan took off their robes and climbed onto their respective tables. They put on their blindfolds and earphones. Once they were in place, the Geeks, Taryn and Risty walked to their first table. The timer started and they began their first massage.
After the first round, the Geeks were told to stand back. The Beauties lifted their blindfolds and grabbed the clipboard and pen that were waiting in arm's reach for them. They jotted down their rating, and when they were done, they set everything aside, put their blindfold back on and lay down again. When all was ready, the Geeks moved to their second table. The cycle continued until the tenth round.
During their nightly confessional that evening, the Beauties and Geeks shared their thoughts about the challenge:
"There was this one guy," said Amara, "who used way too much massage oil. It's like, this is supposed to be a massage! Not an oil bath."
"I have never touched so many half naked people in my life," said Piotr. "I was really nervous at first, but I took a few deep breaths, tried to remember everything that Kitty had told me, and did the best I could."
"I don't know which one was Kurt and which one was Risty," said Tabitha, "but those two-fingered massages were actually pretty good, and way better than I was expecting."
"...and then they all took off their robes and I was like, Arrrrooooga!" said Toad, making eye popping gestures with his hands.
"Most of the massages were pretty terrible," said Amanda.
"About halfway through the massages I started to think, hang on, maybe I'm not applying enough pressure," Pyro said.
Lance shook his head. "I'm just glad it's over."
"I actually really enjoyed it once the nerves wore off," said Scott.
"I don't know who it was, but there was this one guy who was pushing so hard into my skin it was actually painful," said Jean. "I mean hello! I was going 'ow, ow, owww,' and he didn't seem to get it. I thought these guys were supposed to be smart. I wanted to telekinetically throw his hands off me. Actually, come to think of it, there were a few sets of hands I wanted to do that to."
X-23 was silent for a long moment before finally saying: "I applied the lessons I had learned from the study materials and Remy's instruction."
"It weird," said Wanda. "I was completely adverse to any of them massaging on my bare back, but I didn't really like Rogue's or...that other woman's massage either. The gloves were really impersonal. I didn't think it would bother me that much, but it did."
"I went for the button-mashing-on-the-game-controller technique," said Fred.
"A few of them did the karate chop thing," said Kitty, pulling a face. "Yeah, I really hate that."
"It's been a long time since I was that close to so much skin," Rogue said. "I kept checking my gloves for holes even thought I knew there wasn't going to be any, and I changed them for each massage too. I haven't gone through that many gloves in a while either."
"There was a handful that weren't too bad," Gambit said. "The one I rated highest had good, strong hands. The technique was a little off, but with practice I'm pretty sure he's going to have a very lucky girlfriend one day."
"I have used so much massage oil these last few days, I think it's engrained into my skin," Kurt said, sniffing at his fingers.
Finally, the massages came to an end. The Beauties got up and stood by their partners while Taryn, Risty, Duncan and Paul took off. The Geeks and Beauties waited impatiently while the points were tallied.
"Okay," said Spyke. "The votes have been tallied. The two Geeks who gave the best massages are... Piotr—"
Piotr just stared. It didn't even register at first that his name had been called. Kitty had to give him a little nudge before he realise he should move and stand in front of the group.
"—and Laura."
X-23 marched up front and stood at attention. Gambit grinned. He still thought that X-23's massage was a little on the mechanical side, but given the overall quality of the massages, he agreed that X-23's would have been one of the better ones.
"And the winner of the massage challenge...is..." Spyke said, drawing it out as usual, "Piotr."
Kitty squealed and pounced on a flabbergasted Piotr with a hug. Piotr somehow managed to hug Kitty back.
"Congratulations, Piotr," Spyke said. "You've won the challenge, and the change to send another team to the elimination room. I'll see you and Kitty, and Remy and Laura, for your decision tomorrow night."
The Beauties and Geeks spent the evening with a little pool party. Unlike the first time, X-23 was persuaded to change into her bikini and join everyone else in the pool. Gambit had insisted she needed to socialise more. She felt a little awkward being in the swimming pool and not actually swimming, and ended up joining Amara and a few others in the hot tub.
Toad partially got into the pool; he just sat on the edge and dangled his feet in. He hated having the showers that Wanda had insisted on, and he didn't like using the deodorant either, but for once no one was complaining that he stank.
Rogue, Pyro and Fred stayed in their normal clothes. Rogue didn't want to hurt anyone, Fred was a little insecure about being half-naked in front of everyone, and Pyro just didn't like water. Rogue and Fred played chess, and Pyro played games with the flames from lighted candles.
As everyone mingled, Gambit observed. Jean and Scott were getting cozy in the hot tub again. Lance and Kurt vied for Kitty's attention while Piotr quietly looked on. Toad tried for Wanda's attention while she chatted with Pyro, who entertained her with a flame bird. Tabitha and Amanda chatted with anyone and everyone. Gambit found it interesting to see how things had changed—and not changed—since their arrival at the mansion; all the different relationship dynamics.
He couldn't wait to find out how everything would change once more after the elimination.
The following day, Gambit, X-23, Kitty and Piotr took time out of their hectic schedule of amusing themselves to discuss who they would send to the elimination room. They gathered in Kitty and Piotr's bedroom and sat on the double bed which Kitty and Piotr shared (much to Piotr's embarrassment, although he was starting to get used to the arrangement).
"Okay," said Kitty. "I don't want Amanda and Kurt to go to elimination."
"Why?" Gambit asked shooting her a teasing grin. "It wouldn't have anything to liking Kurt at all?"
"Kurt's sweet," Kitty said, refusing to rise to the bait. "And I don't want to send Wanda and Toad either. I mean, they've already been in elimination. I just don't think it would be fair."
"Me neither," Piotr said with a nod of agreement.
"By that logic, we're not sending Rogue and Lance either," Gambit said.
Kitty let out a long, slow breath. "Yeah, I like Lance. Don't really know Rogue very well. I mean, I don't want to send anyone who's been in elimination before, because that's mean, but they're not exactly getting on as a team either."
"I think it would be worth giving him a chance this time," said Piotr seriously. "Rogue actually gave him—and the rest of the Beauties—a massage yesterday, and no one was hurt."
"With any luck, that was just the kick in the ass he needed, hein?" Gambit asked, and then looked at X-23, who was fidgeting with the quilt. "Laura? Thoughts? Opinions?"
X-23's head shot up. She caught Gambit's eyes, was silent for a long moment, and finally said: "I think that Tabitha and Scott are a strong team, and a likely threat."
"Well, if we send in Tabitha and Scott," Kitty said, "then I don't want to send in Jean and Fred. Jean and Scott have gotten pretty friendly, and I think that whoever comes out from that elimination with be mad at both of us for splitting them up. At least if we send in Tabitha and Scott against...someone else, there's a chance Scott and Jean won't be split up."
"Well, the only other team we haven't ruled out yet is Amara and Pyro," said Gambit. "I think they're a strong team too, so it's probably a good match."
"Ugh, Amara's a brat," said Kitty. "She acts like she's royalty or something."
Much later that day, the Beauties and Geeks gathered on the staircase. Gambit and X-23, Kitty and Piotr stood on either side of Spyke in front of the staircase. Everyone looked down at them.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," said Spyke. "It's time for another elimination. Remy, Piotr, you two both won your challenges for your teams. Remy, Laura: who have you decided to send to the elimination room?"
"We decided to send Scott and Tabitha," Gambit said, looking directly at the couple. "We think you're a strong team, and there's not much more from this experience that you two can learn in comparison with others."
"Scott, Tabitha," Spyke said. "Anything to say?"
"I think you're wrong," said Scott, and Gambit got the impression Scott was glaring at him through his red glasses. "I think that a wise man realises that he should never stop learning."
"Very insightful," Gambit replied dryly. "I think you just proved my point."
"Tabitha?" Spyke prompted.
"Well, I guess I can't be too insulted if someone thinks I'm smart enough to be a threat," Tabthia said, and Gambit grinned at her.
"Piotr, Kitty," Spyke then said, turning to the other team. "Who have you decided to send to the elimination room?"
Piotr cleared his throat and avoided looking anyone in the eye as he spoke: "Amara and Pyro."
"And why did you pick them?" Spyke prompted as Amara became visibly upset.
"We thought that they were a strong team as well, and that an even match would be fairer," said Piotr.
"Amara, Pyro," said Spyke. "Anything you'd like to say?"
Amara shook her head slightly, her lips pressed tightly together.
"Nope," said Pyro. "You gotta do whatcha gotta do."
"Alright—" Spyke started to say.
"Umm, if I can just say something," Kitty said, and waited until Spyke gestured for her to go ahead before she continued: "We seriously considered sending Lance and Rogue to the elimination room because, well, Lance you like, totally neglected Rogue this challenge. And it was really sweet of Remy to help Rogue out, but he shouldn't have had to do that. And I know that like, Rogue, you've made a few of us nervous, but, well, I don't know about everyone else, but I'm feeling really silly about letting that stop me from getting to know you. So, Lance, seriously, I like you, but you need to change your ways next challenge, because if you go on neglecting Rogue, and Petey and I win again, we will send you guys back to elimination. Neither of you are going to get anything out of this experience unless you work as a team. Umm...that's all."
"Lance, Rogue," Spyke said, looking over at them. "Anything you'd like to say? That's twice now you've been called out on your inability to get along."
"Yeah," Rogue said with a sly smirk and a tone in her voice that delighted Gambit. "It is, isn't it?"
"Whatever," Lance muttered, and ignored the harsh frown Kitty sent in his direction.
"Okay, Tabitha and Scott, Amara and Pyro," said Spyke. "Pack your bags, say your good byes, and meet me in the elimination room."
Later still, Tabitha, Scott, Amara and Pyro entered the elimination room.
"Welcome to the elimination room," said Spyke. "For one of you, the journey will end here. Beauties, you will be answering questions about cars. Geeks, you will be answering questions about massage."
He went on to explain how the elimination would work, and then sent the Geeks to the elimination room. Once he was informed through his earpiece that Pyro and Scott were seated with the door shut, Spyke turned his attention to the women.
"Tabitha, your team was picked first," Spyke said. "Which number would you like?"
"Number two, please," Tabitha said.
"Two," Spyke said as he reached over and picked the cardboard up off the stand. "What is the word used to describe how thick or thin the oil is?"
Tabitha drew a blank.
"Uhh..." she said uncertainly. "Thickness?"
"That is incorrect," said Spyke. "The correct answer is viscosity."
"Dammit," Tabitha muttered under her breath.
"Amara, please pick a number."
"One, thank you Spyke," said Amara.
"Windshield wipers have blades made of what?"
"Rubber."
"That is correct," said Spyke.
In the viewing room, Pyro cheered. Scott gave him a nod. They watched and listened as Tabitha and Amara then got their second questions correct. Spyke called the Geeks back to the elimination room.
"Sorry," Tabitha said to Scott as he entered.
"You were fine," he replied, while Pyro gave Amara a thumbs up and she rolled her eyes.
"The score is one to two, in favour of Amara and Pyro," said Spyke. "Ladies, please go to the viewing room."
"Good luck," Tabitha said to Scott, and she and Amara departed.
Again, Spyke waited until he got his cue through his ear piece, and then he turned his attention to Scott and Pyro.
"Pyro," he said. "Please, pick a number."
"Three," Pryo replied.
"Three," Spyke said, and picked up the relevant question card. "What is the name of the Japanese massage therapy that literally translates to 'finger pressure'?"
"Shiatsu," Pyro replied.
"That is correct," said Spyke. "Scott, the score is one to three. You have to get this question right to stay in the game. What number would you like?"
"One please," Scott replied after a moment's pause.
"One," Spyke said, and continued reading from the card: "Massage combined with certain scents and oils is commonly referred to as what?
Scott paused for a moment. "Aromatherapy?"
"That is correct," said Spyke. "Pyro, the score is now two to three. If you get this question right, you and Amara stay in the game, and Scott and Tabitha go home. What number would you like?"
"Four."
The Beauties and Geeks waited impatiently in the bedroom for the surviving team to arrive. There was some idle chatter to begin with, but it settled into silence. Finally, they head the clacking of heels walking across the wooden floor. The door opened just enough for a female leg to slide through as a teaser. Those who paid attention to things like shoes knew Amara and Pyro had won before the door opened completely.
Wanda immediately jumped up and hugged Pyro while Amanda also welcomed Amara back with a hug. While most of the guys also welcomed them back, Kitty and Jean were both disappointed it wasn't Scott and Tabitha returning. Jean hadn't wanted herself and Scott to be broken up, and Kitty just wasn't a fan of Amara. Judging from the look Amara sent in her direction, Amara wasn't a fan of Kitty either.
Outside at the same time, Scott and Tabitha were seated in front of the camera. Tabitha was in tears.
"I still feel like there's a lot more I could have learned," Scott said.
"I'm not ready to go home," Tabitha said between sniffles. "I love everyone, and we were just starting to really get to know each other and I...I..."
Scott awkwardly put his arm around her.
"I will miss the others," he said, paused and then added: "Especially Jean. I hope when this is over that Jean and I will see each other again."